1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-voltage apparatus and a vehicle.
2. Discussion of the Background
An automobile that is driven by an engine and a motor (referred to as “a hybrid automobile” hereafter), or an automobile that is driven only by a motor (referred to as “an electric automobile” hereafter) is equipped with high-voltage apparatuses. The high-voltage apparatus includes a battery unit and a high-voltage control device unit. The battery unit includes batteries that store power and supply the power to electrical equipment. The high-voltage control device unit includes high-voltage control devices, which control the power of the batteries to a specified voltage, such as an inverter. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-82803 discloses an example of a related-art structure of such a high-voltage apparatus. The high-voltage apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-82803 includes a battery unit and a high-voltage control device unit housed in a substantially rectangular box-shaped housing.
The high-voltage control device unit that includes components such as the inverter, and the battery unit that includes batteries generate heat when they are operated. Charge and discharge efficiency of the batteries decreases under high temperature conditions. Also, the inverter may be damaged when the inverter is operated at a temperature higher than the heat resistant temperature thereof. In order to overcome these problems, the high-voltage apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-82803 has a cooling structure that cools the battery unit and the high-voltage control device unit. The cooling structure draws cooling air into the housing through an air-intake duct using a blower fan, causes the cooling air to flow toward the battery unit and the high-voltage control device unit in this order, and then exhausts the air through an exhaust duct to outside of the apparatus.